Containers to hold fluids or liquids such as beverages are well known in the art. One such known beverage container, commonly referred to as a Tetra-Pack.TM., includes a generally rectangular parallelpiped body formed from layers of laminated material. At the top of the body is a foil or plastic covered aperture through which a straw or the like may be pushed to allow an individual to drink the contents of the container. Although these containers are widely used, their design does not make them readily recyclable and after use, they are typically disposed of through landfill.
An alternative container design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,065 to Tobolka. The Tobolka container is formed of a unitary pieces of plastic material folded and bonded at appropriate locations to define a body having an internal reservoir and an integrally formed spout in fluid communication with the internal reservoir. The spout extends upwardly from the body of the container and defines a straw to allow an individual to drink the contents of the container. A restriction in the container is positioned at the juncture between the body of the container and the spout to reduce the pressure of fluid flowing from the body to the spout. This gives the individual more control over the velocity of the out-flowing fluid.
Although this container is satisfactory, improved container designs are continually being sought. It is before an object of the present invention to provide a novel container for fluids such as beverages or the like. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of forming fluid-filled containers from a tube of flexible material and to a method of forming a self-supporting fluid-filled container.